Pictures of Isafjordur At Last!

We’ve all been frustrated with technology, and been resistant to asking for help. Me, too. Finally, I sought help from the ship’s internet help desk. Before I even asked, I found the sign on the door with the answer! Now I can add my pictures to the blog, taken with my phone. Part of my joy in doing this on the blog is to share with Bob, who is still in isolation after yet another positive antigen test. We haven’t seen one another in a week, and it will be at least two more days. So, hi, Bob! (though we do talk on the phone).

Pictures of Isafjordur show how cold, harsh and barren it appeared to me. Take a look at these (and remember Bob is the family photographer, so be gentle):

The town of Isafjordur is equally barren, as I reported in the last post. Houses, corporate buildings, lumber supply all squished together. You will note the total absence of trees and bushes, adding to the sense of hardness.

There are three churches in this tiny town of less than 3000. This is the “Farmer’s Church” built by a farmer, and exquisitely expensive with its wood floors, beams and pews. Notice our tour group admiring the cemetery; the gravestones were in Icelandic so it was hard to tell if the story that fisherman are never buried (because they die at sea) is true.

Inside the farmer’s church, we were treated to music, a 1208 traditional Icelandic hymn. Iceland is proudly Christian, though belief in trolls is popular and acceptable. If I can figure it out, I did record the Icelandic song and will share it. All in Icelandic of course. The singer also shared a traditional lullaby, which I didn’t record, as the musician explained that the backstory was of a mother saying farewell to her infant before tossing him into a waterfall.

Speaking of waterfalls, they are numerous and beautiful, and provide the town’s drinking water. Here’s one.

The mountains and the ground have very little soil, so very little grows. The color comes from the lichen and moss. From the Farmer’s Church, a close-up of the lichen and moss on the gatepost:

Today, we celebrated the first day of sunshine in a typical Arctic summer day of 52 degrees F. Here’s how I celebrated:

Tonight, we will cross the Arctic circle, and promptly set our clocks ahead another hour. We are now +5 hours from EDT. Tomorrow is a sea day, and maybe I’ll use it to share pictures from Akureyri which is a completely different microclimate…..